MIAMI — A federal judge is set to consider arguments on Monday regarding claims that detainees at a temporary immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades have been denied their legal rights.
In a second lawsuit contesting the conditions at the facility, known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” civil rights attorneys are pursuing a preliminary injunction to ensure that detainees can privately communicate with their lawyers, which they argue has been prevented. Florida officials contest this assertion.
The attorneys are also requesting that U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz designate an immigration court jurisdiction for the center, to allow for bond or release petitions. They allege that federal immigration courts in Florida routinely cancel hearings, citing lack of jurisdiction over detainees in the Everglades.
“The situation at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is so different from what is usually allowed at other immigration facilities,” remarked Eunice Cho, an attorney with the ACLU Foundation, during a virtual meeting to prepare for the hearing.
Before addressing the core issues of detainees’ rights, Ruiz indicated he wants to resolve whether the case was filed in the correct jurisdiction in Miami. Defendants from the state and federal governments argue that although Miami-Dade County owns the land, the facility’s location in Collier County places it in a different judicial district in the state.
The judge noted that some issues might relate to different districts and will decide on the jurisdiction matter following Monday’s hearing.
“I think we should all be prepared that, before we get into any real argument about preliminary injunctive relief, that we at least spend some time working through the venue issues,” Ruiz said Thursday.
The hearing over legal access comes as another federal judge in Miami considers whether construction and operations at the facility should be halted indefinitely because federal environmental rules weren’t followed. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Aug. 7 ordered a 14-day halt on additional construction at the site while witnesses testified at a hearing that wrapped up last week. She has said she plans to issue a ruling before the order expires later this week.
Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced last week that his administration was preparing to open a second immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison in north Florida. DeSantis justified building the second detention center by saying President Donald Trump’s administration needs the additional capacity to hold and deport more immigrants.
The state of Florida has disputed claims that “Alligator Alcatraz” detainees have been unable to meet with their attorneys. The state’s lawyers said that since July 15, when videoconferencing started at the facility, the state has granted every request for a detainee to meet with an attorney, and in-person meetings started July 28. The first detainees arrived at the beginning of July.
But the civil rights attorneys said that even if lawyers have been scheduled to meet with their clients at the detention center, it hasn’t been in private or confidential, and it is more restrictive than at other immigration detention facilities. They said scheduling delays and an unreasonable advanced notice requirement have hindered their ability to meet with the detainees, thereby violating their constitutional rights.
Civil rights attorneys said officers are going cell-to-cell to pressure detainees into signing voluntary removal orders before they’re allowed to consult their attorneys, and some detainees have been deported even though they didn’t have final removal orders. Along with the spread of a respiratory infection and rainwater flooding their tents, the circumstances have fueled a feeling of desperation among detainees, the attorneys wrote in a court filing.
“One intellectually disabled detainee was told to sign a paper in exchange for a blanket, but was then deported subject to voluntary removal after he signed, without the ability to speak to his counsel,” the filing said.
The judge has promised a quick decision once the hearing is done.
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